HARTFORD — An 18-year-old who police say stole an occupied car at a Bloomfield cemetery, prompting the 86-year-old passenger to jump out, and struck a 10-year-old Sunday suffers from mental illness, police and family say.

Neither the 10-year-old girl nor the 86-year-old woman sustained serious injuries in the carjacking at Mount St. Benedict Cemetery, police said. Sowell was stopped by the girl's family members and arrested on charges including carjacking, second-degree robbery, second-degree larceny and first-degree reckless endangerment, they said. More charges are expected.

Frederick Sowell's mother, identified in a police report as Lashawne Houston, told investigators her son has bipolar disorder and "had been acting strange for about a week," according to the report. She had been planning to take him to the hospital, she told them.

Instead of the hospital, Sowell was in custody Monday; Judge Joan Alexander set his bail at $500,000 during his arraignment in Superior Court and scheduled his next court date for Oct. 9. She also asked for a mental health watch on Sowell, who is from Manchester Street in Hartford.

He has no arrest record, his public defender said.

The child who was hit by the car sustained a minor injury and was transported to the Connecticut Children's Medical Center for treatment, police said. She has since been discharged, said hospital spokeswoman Teresa Riccio.

The 86-year-old, Elvira Curti of West Hartford, said she was not injured at all.

According to the report, Curti was at the cemetery with her friend, Anne-Marie Rabbett, also from West Hartford, about 2:40 p.m. Sunday. Rabbett parked near the main office, leaving her keys and Curti in the car while she got some water for flowers she had bought, it says.

As Rabbett walked toward the main office, she saw a young man later identified as Sowell get into the driver's seat and start the car. She ran back to the car and grabbed onto Sowell through the open car door, according to the report.

"Anne-Marie stated she then saw Elvira opening the front right door of her vehicle and literally jumping out of her vehicle," it says.

In a telephone interview, Curti said when the man got into the car, she said, " 'My God! Why? Why? Why are you taking the car?' "

Sowell pushed Rabbett away, the report said, and sped off into the part of the cemetery that is in Windsor, driving over grass and numerous grave markers, police said. Witnesses told police he then drove toward a group of about 30 people who were visiting a family grave site.

The group scattered, but Sowell struck the 10-year-old girl, Sanae Soto, police said.

Family members then go into their cars and followed Sowell, according to the report. They were able to stop him and detain him at the north entrance of the cemetery until police responded, it said.

Sowell told police he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder about four years ago. He said he was not taking any prescribed medication for his condition.

Houston said outside the courtroom Monday that her son recently had a problem at work and said she thinks that may have led to what happened on Sunday.